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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25430422">Guard for the Soul</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbzcat/pseuds/dbzcat'>dbzcat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:20:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,766</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25430422</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbzcat/pseuds/dbzcat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Love. It’s what everyone searches for, what everyone yearns for in the depths of their souls, whether they realize it or not. It is known in the Milky Way Galaxy that everyone has a soul mate out there somewhere in the universe. Someone that holds the other half of their soul. Someone that it is perfect match for them. Someone they can truly trust their heart with. </p><p>But many out there do find their other halfs. It is not impossible. After all each race is born with their own instincts to draw them towards their soul mate. Their own...hints to help lead the way. Humans for example develop their soul mate’s names on their arms. Drell often have dreams of their soul mate’s memories. Turians feel a vague pull in the general direction of their soul mate. Every species from the well known Asari to the lesser known Raloi each have their own unique ability to help bring two halfs together to make a whole.</p><p>Whether you live with the mate you are destined or the mate of your choosing you can find true love. But sometimes when true love is farther away than you can fathom, you must work a little harder to find your happiness. Trust me. It’s always worth it in the end.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jaal Ama Darav &amp; Female Ryder | Sara, Jaal Ama Darav &amp; Ryder, Jaal Ama Darav/Female Ryder | Sara, Jaal Ama Darav/Ryder, Suvi Anwar/Male Ryder | Scott</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello all :)</p><p>My name is Sara and I am a long Mass Effect fanfic reader who finally decided to try my hand at it. This is my first attempt so I hope you guys like it. I'm going to try to keep this fic up with weekly updates but I wanted to put this first chapter out early to see if there was even any interest in it. Let me know what you all think! :)</p><p>Also, I love writing prompts so if anyone has any prompts for me I would love to do some one shots of them or something!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Love. It’s what everyone searches for, what everyone yearns for in the depths of their souls, whether they realize it or not. It is known in the Milky Way Galaxy that everyone has a soul mate out there somewhere in the universe. Someone that holds the other half of their soul. Someone that it is perfect match for them. Someone they can truly trust their heart with. </p><p>Not everyone finds their soul mate however. There can only be an uncountable number of beings out there, all searching for the love of their lives. But truly, what are the chances of finding them at all? Many people live their whole lives without ever meeting their soul mates. Choosing instead of live and love with another rather than waste their lives on chasing a dream, many have found happiness this way. Many people live and die without love, believing that there is only one out there for them and if they can’t find them why take someone else’s chance to find their soul mate away? I can’t imagine many find happiness this way.</p><p>But many out there do find their other halfs. It is not impossible. After all each race is born with their own instincts to draw them towards their soul mate. Their own...hints to help lead the way. Humans for example develop their soul mate’s names on their arms. Drell often have dreams of their soul mate’s memories. Turians feel a vague pull in the general direction of their soul mate. Every species from the well known Asari to the lesser known Raloi each have their own unique ability to help bring two halfs together to make a whole.</p><p>Whether you live with the mate you are destined or the mate of your choosing you can find true love. But sometimes when true love is farther away than you can fathom, you must work a little harder to find your happiness. Trust me. It’s always worth it in the end.</p><p>- - -</p><p>When Sara and Scott Ryder turned 10 they were the most excited they had ever been in their short lives. At age 10 is when humans got their soul marks. As soon as they awoke they threw off their blankets and looked at their arms. On the inner part of their right arms starting under their wrists and spanning down the length of their arm, where once was blank, now bore the names of the people meant to be their soul mate. Running across the hall to each other’s rooms, Scott got the jump on her and thrust his arm out first.</p><p>“Look Sara look!” he said “I’ve finally got my soul mark!” </p><p>Sara looked down and saw running about a third of the way down her brother’s arm written was the name. “Suvi Anwar?” she asked, staring into her brothers smiling face. Scott had always been a bit more tan than Sara. His dirty blonde hair curled slightly as it reached his ears and he had a handful of light freckles dotted across the middle of his face which complimented his light bronze skin nicely.</p><p>Scott was practically bouncing up and down. “Yup!” he said “Suvi. Such a pretty name. I’ve never met a Suvi before have you?” Sara shook her head. “Well I guess I will someday. Suvi...my soul mate” He said as he affectionately rubbed the name along his arm. Seeing that made Sara smile, she had done the same thing upon seeing her own soul mark and had a feeling they would probably do it a lot in the future.“Lets see yours Sara!” Scott said, excited to hear who his twin sister would end up with. He looked up at his sister’s face with obvious childlike impatience. </p><p>Where Scott tanned in the sun, Sara burned. Her strait dark brown hair reached just below her shoulders, which after having proclaimed months ago that she wanted to see how long she could grow it, hadn’t been trimmed in awhile. Whereas he had probably two dozen or so freckles on his entire body she had close to a hundred dotted all across her face, with hundreds more cascading down her shoulders and arms. Freckle splashes along her chest and legs as well. They once tried to count them all but to quickly gave up. With pale skin more than a few shades lighter than his, you would never know that they were twins unless told. Siblings yes, but maybe not twins.</p><p>Sara frowned “I can’t read mine” she said almost disappointingly, showing him her arm. It was a name that ran about half way down her arm and looked like it was written in cursive. Like the kind of cursive that looks so fancy you can’t even read it, the ends of a few of the letters striking up as if it was written with a calligraphy brush. She did know one thing though. “They definitely aren’t human letters.” she mused “I kinda like it though, I think it looks cool the way the letters are shaped. Do you know which language this is?” she asked her brother.</p><p>“I have no idea” he said shaking his head. His own mark was written in English so he knew she at least was human. “You sound kinda bummed, are you disappointed that your soul mate might be an alien?” It wasn’t unheard of for a human, or any race really, to have a soul mate outside of their species. Uncommon yes, but not unheard of. </p><p>“No. I’m just a little sad that I can’t read it is all. I know I’ll love whoever it is I just wish I knew their name.” Sara said a little frustrated but soon perked up. It didn’t really matter right now anyway. They will get to see what all the other writing systems of the alien races looked like in school so she will find out eventually. Smiling down at her arm she traced the strange script, wondering how many years it would take for them to meet each other. She doubted it would happen here on Earth. Maybe someday on the Citadel? “Come on, lets go show mom and dad!”</p><p>Following the human tradition, they did not have a party or see any of their friends on their 10th birthday, but they did get a very important gift. Alec and Ellen Ryder presented them each with their birthday presents.</p><p>“Now remember” their mother said, going down to her knees to join her children on the floor “These are very important and you must treat them with care.”</p><p>“Yes” their father added, kneeling down as well to hand them each a small box. “These are very special. You must follow the rules and wear them always.”</p><p>The twins nodded their heads. They both knew the rules, every human child did. When your soul mark appears you are never to show it to anyone except those you’d trust with your life, at least until you’ve actually found your soul mate. It’s for your own protection. There are people out there who wouldn’t think twice about scamming or harming you, using such sensitive information as the name on your arm. Pretending to be your soul mate to get close to you. Bad things aside it also gives it an air of secrecy. Like it’s a special little secret to share with just you and those closest to you. You know you have a friend for life if they show you their soul mark. After two soul mates meet and fall in love however, they are free to show their marks to the world. </p><p>That’s why the they knew exactly what was inside the boxes, after all it was the same thing every 10 year old gets for their birthday. It’s the same thing that they’ve seen everyday pinned in a glass box hanging on their parent’s bedroom wall, their parent’s having removed theirs and framed them after they got married. But that didn’t make it any less exciting. Ripping away the wrapping paper they held up their new treasures and grinned. Finally their very own soul guards. Arm bracers made to go around the entire circumference of the forearm and about a little over 3/4s the length. They slipped them on and tested the feeling, they were soft and light. Almost like a second skin.</p><p>Scott’s was a deep red, almost maroon color while Sara’s was a deep purple. Scott and Sara’s names were both etched into their respective guards, light enough to not be obvious, along the inside right above their soul mark. Almost like they are touching their soul mate already. Their mother smiled as she watched her children admire what would become part of their identity for many years to come as their father explained the guards. Being a high ranking officer in the Alliance had it’s advantages because Alec had the best made he could find both on and off world. They were made of a mix of both human and alien materials, very small and tight fibers so they would never shred or tear unless you REALLY tried. Strong enough that it could take a beating if it needed to. They were also slightly stretchy so they would grow with you. Soft and breathable so they wouldn’t irritate the skin so they could be worn literally 24/7 and it basically feel like a part of your body. Stain resistant and scratch proof these were meant to last them their whole lives. In the past people had to make do with normal cloth or leather bracers that had to be replaced as they were worn down or were taken off regularly to bathe and let the skin breathe. Alec didn’t want that for his kids. Both Alec and Ellen had saved for many years to be able to afford top of the line soul guards for their children. </p><p>Sara and Scott loved them and quickly proclaimed that they would never take them off. They couldn’t wait to wear them to school and show all their friends. Sara went to bed that night tracing her soul mate’s name, of course having already memorized it, over hers on her guard. </p><p>Finally. she thought as she drifted off to sleep Her life was truly starting.</p><p>- - - </p><p>The next few years passed the for the Ryder twins the same as any other child. They went to school, they came home, they played and then they did it all over again. Although having a father in the Alliance did make things a LITTLE different. When other children went outside and played baseball with their dads, Sara and Scott trained with theirs. </p><p>“You must always be ready to defend yourselves” he said “Even if you never have to fight in your life, even in times of peace, everyone needs to know how to defend themselves.” With Alec the twins learned hand-to-hand combat and how to shoot a gun. Sara was always better at this than Scott was.</p><p>When other kids played games or had tea parties with their moms, Sara and Scott trained with theirs.</p><p>“It’s always a good idea to know how things work” she said “Even if you don’t make this your career, having the basic knowledge will undoubtedly help you someday.” With Ellen the twins learned how to program and hack things. Scott was always better at this than Sara was.</p><p>They had also moved around quite a bit as their father got re-assigned to new stations, seemingly never staying in the same place for more than 6 months or so. It wasn’t all bad, after all they did get to travel and see new places and experience new things. And with every new city or new country they visited, just like any other child, they kept their eyes and ears open for their soul mates. </p><p>At 14 their father told them that he was getting a permanent assignment at the Citadel so they would be living there for the foreseeable future. Sara was ecstatic. Scott...not so much.</p><p>“Why do we have to move to the Citadel?” Scott complained for probably the tenth time since they started packing. “What’s wrong with staying here on Earth?”</p><p>“Would you stop whining? You’re going to love the Citadel and you know it.” Sara replied as she went through her belongings, trying to decide what to bring with her and what to leave behind. Although their apartment on the Citadel will be spacious it was still going to be smaller than the house they had now. “Think of all the new species we’ll get to meet. We hardly see any non-humans around here besides asari and the occasional turian. “</p><p>“Hmmm you’re just saying that because you still haven’t figured out what species your soul mate is.” </p><p>Sara looked down at her arm, unbarred because she was just around family, and ran her fingers down the mark. It was true, she still hadn’t figured out what language it was or even what species it came from. Years of research had turned up nothing, the closest thing she could find was some old Drell language from when they lived on Rakhana. Close but not close enough. It’s been 4 years and she still didn’t know what species her soul mate was and it was really starting to bum her out. Shaking her head she began packing.</p><p>“You’re right. I don’t know what species my soul mate is but the Citadel has all the collective knowledge of all the species in our galaxy, I’ll figure it out there.” She was certain. She would find her soul mate at the Citadel, or at the very least be able to translate their name.</p><p>“But what if Suvi is still here?” Scott mumbled quietly.</p><p>Sara looked up “Is that what you’re so worried about?” The sheepish look he gave her told her everything she needed to know. Laughing she said “Really Scott? You know she’s not here, we’ve been to 7 different countries and we still haven’t found her. What makes you think she’s not on the Citadel? There are plenty of humans there. Hell she could even be in the Alliance! You said yourself that you wanted to join, maybe you’ll meet her there. Besides you know that most people don’t meet their soul mates until they are adults anyway so what are you worried about? We still have plenty of time and it’s not like we’ll never come back to Earth again. Now shut up and start packing will ya? I’m not going to help you cram everything if you leave your packing till the last minute like last time.”</p><p>Scott smiled and threw some dirty underwear at her, knowing it would make her squeal and run away, revenge for lecturing him but knowing she was right. What was he worried about? He still had his whole life to find his soul mate there was no reason to spend it searching the globe for someone who may not even be there. He’ll find her eventually, and until then he’ll live his life.</p><p>- - -</p><p>At 15 their mother fell ill. It was eventually diagnosed as AEND, a rare neuro-degenerative disorder. It was terminal and had no known cure but what made it worse was that there was no way of knowing when it would eventually take her. She could live another day or another 20 years. After her diagnoses their father secluded himself, working on some secret Alliance project or another. They began to see their father less and less so they clung to their mother more and more. One day Ellen had enough of it.</p><p>“I’m no invalid you know.” Ellen said, waving off her son’s attempt to get her in a wheelchair. “I can walk to the restaurant just as well as you two. Now come. We need to talk”</p><p>The Ryder family made their way to The Chat Noir, a restaurant nearby their apartment known for it’s diverse food choices. There was no less than 3 different dishes from each race represented on the Citadel. After ordering their food Ellen looked at her children, both looking at her with something akin to dread, no doubt expecting her to have bad news. </p><p>Sighing she started “I want you two to get out of the house more.” They started to open their mouths to protest but before they could she added “I’m fine. I don’t want you two wasting your lives away taking care of me when I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. My disease is manageable and when it gets to the point that it isn’t believe me I will ask for help. I want you to go out with friends and have fun and study for your careers like any teenager should.”</p><p>“But mom what if something happens?” </p><p>Ellen smiled at her daughter. “Something could happen whether you’re there or not. I have your father there to take care of me. And even when he’s not home I have my omni-tool with me at all times. I can make a call to the Citadel’s emergency line just as easily as you can. Besides I’m feeling fine and I plan to be around for a long while.” Just then the food came which provided a perfect distraction to their current line of conversation. “Now!” their mother clapped “Tell me about what you two are wanting to do with your lives.”</p><p>The family talked and ate and went home and talked some more, finally deciding that they can’t just stay at home with their mother forever and instead have to make something of themselves. They are Ryders after all. Scott decided that he wanted to go into the Alliance when he turned 18 like his father. He will train and work hard and get into the N7 program and from there who knows where he will go. Sara decided that she will go to the Citadel University and become a multi-species Zoologist, maybe even someday visit other alien worlds and work with animals there? </p><p>So that’s what they did. They went out and made friends and had fun and studied for their chosen careers. Of course they still kept up with the weekly training their parents instilled in them back on Earth. After all, you never knew when it would come in handy right?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, yes I know that Suvi can only be romanced by females in the game but I just LOVE her and I'm not that big of a fan of Cora so I wanted my Scott to have some Suvi love this time :)</p><p>So yes, again this is my first real try at a fic so let me know what you all think! Love you all!</p><p>P.S.<br/>Yes my real name IS Sara spelled the same Sara Ryder's was in the game. Made it a bit more fun and exciting playing the game because that's the first time that's ever happened to me lol I kinda wish they would have used her real name more instead of saying just Ryder (especially for the love interests) but I get why they couldn't. I'll just have to make up for it in this fic :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Writing Prompts/Requests (especially for Ryder/Jaal or Shepard/Krios) - OPEN :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Scott spent the next 3 years finishing grade school and training with his father. Learning how to do more advanced hand-to-hand combat and how to shoot almost every type of gun. His father also got him a biotic trainer, until then Scott had no one to really teach him how to use his powers in combat so he was grateful for the extra help. Osani, his asari trainer, was a successful commando in her younger days. Although she was tough on him and often kicked his ass on the mats she was confident that in time he would become a powerful biotic. “Get back up” she always told him “If you lie you die. ALWAYS get back up.” On his 18th birthday he enlisted into the Alliance.</p><p>Sara spent the next 3 years finishing grade school and a bit of time training with her father and brother as well. It was important, she believed, to keep it up at least a little bit. Although she didn’t quite go into the advanced training her brother did and only cared to learn one or two different types of guns. She also, unlike her twin, wasn’t a biotic. It was certainly strange for one twin to be born a biotic but not the other and no one really knew why. Considering that they were both exposed to eezo in the womb they should both have developed equally but she always figured that it was because they weren’t identical twins. Or maybe the eezo exposure hit her brother’s umbilical cord before hers so he absorbed it all? Who knows. Sara used to feel jealous that she didn’t have the same powers as her brother when she was younger. Watching him make something float across the room to him or small stints of flying from one place to another would make anyone jealous. She wondered if that is how most of the human population felt, watching the few biotics of their species. She has gotten over that jealousy over the years though, there wasn’t much point in lingering on it when she knew there was nothing she could do about it. Besides, it’s not like she didn’t have her own talents that her brother couldn’t replicate. Her brother always called her “sneaky-sneaky” because she was so good at sneaking up on people. Her father called her “quiet-footed” for the same reason. She had a tactical cloak installed on her omni-tool but she never really used it except to scare the crap out of Scott. Although she enjoyed some aspects of Alliance training, mostly when she was bored, she wouldn’t want to make a career out of it. Besides, she had other plans in mind anyway. </p><p>It didn’t take her very long to find and become a regular at the Citadel’s zoo. It only housed the smallest and least dangerous animals but they were still animals from all over the galaxy so Sara still loved it. It was actually at the zoo when Sara met who would eventually become one of her best friends, a vibrant turquoise skinned drell with dark blue frills. He was inside the cage that housed a family of servals. Small wild cats from Earth that have enough of a friendly temperament that they can be handled but can still be quite wild if you’re not careful. Some people on Earth have even been known to keep them as pets.</p><p>Sara walked up to the exhibit and put her hand on the glass. How in the hell did he get in there?  she thought, not seeing any obvious sign of entry in the fake African landscape. That would be a dream job for her while she went to university. She cocked her head to the side, observing the alien in his work. She had never seen a drell outside of pictures on the extranet before and even then never one with quite his coloring. She must have been admiring him too long because, as if he sensed her looking, he looked up and waved. A little embarrassed at being caught she waved back and watched him pack up whatever supplies he was using and walk out a back door painted to look like native tree. She was still watching the cats when the drell came around the corner and spotted her.</p><p>“Hi” he said. He had a deep dual-toned voice that sounded strange to Sara. Not like anything she had ever heard before, maybe a little like a Turian but rougher? Almost like sandpaper. Strange but pleasant. Sara liked it. “My name is Jazan” he said “Jazan Loak. Did you have any questions about the servals?”</p><p>“Oh. Ah no. No thank you, I was just wondering what you were doing in there and how you got in there. I mean...ah.” She was rambling and she knew it. She took a big sigh and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Sara Ryder. I’m going to CU for multi-species Zoology.”</p><p>He took her hand and shook it, apparently being around humans often enough to know the traditional greeting. “It’s nice to meet you Sara. I’m actually about to end my shift, do you care to join me for a late lunch?”</p><p>That threw her and she hesitated for a moment. “Wh..Wait really?” she asked. Shocked that this man would ask her to lunch. They had literally JUST met. Was he asking her out or something? Maybe it didn’t mean that for drell. Maybe he just needed someone to talk to? She was so confused and not for the first time in her life cursed her inexperience. Maybe I should have done a bit more dating in high school she thought with mild annoyance.</p><p>He smiled at her as he readjusted the crate of supplies he was carrying. “Unless you don’t want to of course. I just transferred here a week ago from Kahje and I haven’t really had time to make any friends yet. I thought since you were studying Zoology it would give us some common ground to talk about? Please don’t feel obligated.” He readjusted his load again “I’m afraid I need to go put these away. If you’d like to chat than meet me at the front gate and if not perhaps I’ll see you around the zoo some time. Goodbye.” He bowed slightly and walked off into some building a ways behind her.</p><p>Wow she thought He’s so...formal. Should she go? She looked around the zoo, it was starting to die down a bit. The animals beginning to head inside for their own meals so they wouldn’t be out to look at anyway. Eh, what’s the worst that can happen she thought as she started towards the front gate. Besides, she smiled he was kinda cute. She looked down at her guard Maybe… she thought, remembering how the closest writing system she could find that matched her soul mark was an ancient drell language… She shook her head No. Not again. She hadn't given up on finding her soul mate, far from it, but she had stopped actively looking. Suspecting every alien she met might have been her soul mate got tiring really quickly. Besides, that's the whole point of soul mates isn't it? That fate will lead the way? Her belly rumbled just then and any indecisiveness she may have had left at the thought of food. </p><p>- - -</p><p>Jazan turned out to be a great conversationalist. He wasn’t lying when he said that he hadn’t had time to make any friends yet. Literally the only people he had talked to in any depth up until this point were his supervisors at the zoo and some hanar from the embassy.</p><p>“Hanar outside of Kahje don’t seem to like to chat much. Only the political figures or others high in power ever bother to leave the planet so they are usually not in the habit of making friends while they are here.”</p><p>“Sounds lonely. Are there not any other drell on the Citadel?” Sara asked, poking at her noodle dish. </p><p>“Not really” he replied whilst spearing his own fruit. Sara thought it looked weird, some kind of spiky looking thing. How could he even eat that without hurting the inside of his mouth? “But that’s ok. I didn’t come to the Citadel to only talk to other drell. I get enough of that at home.”</p><p>“There aren’t very many other species besides drell and hanar on Kahje right?” Jazan shook his head “So how do we compare?” He looked at her strangely “The rest of the citadel species I mean. When I left Earth to live here for the first time it was kind of overwhelming how many other species there are here. Like, you know about them before you come of course but it’s still a little overwhelming. So many different cultures and customs.”</p><p>“True, it certainly is different than what I’m used to. I believe I like it this way though.” He says while looking out the window to gaze at the people walking around the Presidium below. “I loved Kahje, it was where I was born after all, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it better here. On Kahje it’s difficult not to offend people sometimes. The hanar customs demand politeness and that has leaked into drell society somewhat. Outside of a family unit, and even inside in many cases, being impolite is very frowned upon. Of course no one would ever tell you that you’ve insulted them otherwise they would be seen as impolite as well.” Shaking his head “It can get very tiring.” he sighs. “Besides” he looks up and lifts his arms as if to gesture to everything around him “It’s so DRY!” he almost shouts causing quite a few heads in the restaurant to turn his way.</p><p>Sara tries to hold in a laugh but quickly fails. He puts his arms down and his frills darken, looking around as if just realizing that everyone was watching him. She can’t really blame him for his excitement though. She once read that it rains almost all day, everyday on Kahje. Coming from a race that evolved on a desert planet it must be miserable living there sometimes. Even if you weren't an arid race having a break from being constantly waterlogged has to be a relief. She tossed a pit of the prickly piece that fell off of his fruit at him to startle him out of his funk.</p><p>“Relax Jazan” she smiled when he finally looked up at her “I’m glad your enjoying it here so much. Kahje is mostly rainy all the time right?”</p><p>“Yea” he chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck “The drell live in biodomes to help keep the rain off of us but that doesn’t stop the humidity all together. It’s nice to live somewhere where the air isn’t so wet.”</p><p>“We lived in a place on Earth called Hilo for a few months. It got really rainy there, more than any other place I’ve visited. It was fun for awhile but I can’t imagine living there my whole life.”</p><p>Jazan hmmmmed as if lost in thought. They eventually changed the subject to animals and the different species of their respective planets. This being something they are both so passionate about, they quickly lost track of time.</p><p>Sara’s wrist buzzes and she opens up her omni-tool. “Uh-oh” she says. She stands and her heart drops a little when she sees who’s trying to contact her and then notices the time. </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Jazan asks looking up at her in concern “Is everything ok?”</p><p>“It’s fine” Sara says “I just didn’t realize how late it was and my dad is calling me. He’s probably upset I’ve stayed out this late without contacting him. I’ll just be a minute.” Jazan immediately nodding and giving a quick “of course” before he gets up to clean their table of the various wrappers and drink cups they’ve accumulated since they sat down. She smiles in thanks before turning and walking to a private corner of the cafe to answer her father’s call.</p><p>“Hey dad. What’s up?” She answers in greeting, trying to keep her tone light.</p><p>“What’s up?? Do you have any idea what time it is!? It’s almost midnight! I thought you were out with your brother. Where have you been? Why haven’t you contacted me or your mother if you knew you were going to be staying out this late?”</p><p>Sara sighed and bowed her head in defeat. “Yea I’m sorry dad, I just lost track of time. I met someone at the zoo late this afternoon and then we got something to eat and...”</p><p>“What do you mean? You’ve been out with a stranger this whole time and didn’t even think to tell us? I thought I raised you to be smarter than that.” Her father’s tone was annoyed which annoyed Sara in turn. This is why Sara never really tried to date when she was younger. Her father always freaked out whenever she tried to spend too much time with “a stranger”. She realizes his career as an N7 Alliance soldier probably made him see some scary shit out on the field, but that doesn’t mean that everyone was a boogy man out to get her. </p><p>“I’m FINE dad. I can take care of myself you know.” she said with more venom than the probably should have put into the phrase. “Its just a fellow zoologist. We’ve been sitting in a cafe getting some dinner and talking about animals. NOTHING for you to worry about ok? I’m sorry I didn’t call you but I didn’t intend to be out this late tonight and I just lost track of time. We are just finishing up and I’ll be home soon.” </p><p>Alec sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before replying to his daughter “Next time you need to call and let us know you will be out this late. The citadel can be a dangerous place. YES even the zoo” he hurried to say before she could interrupt him. “I will see you when you get home and I expect you to apologize to your mother as well, you know the stress and worry is not good for her. Alec out” he cut the call before she could reply.</p><p>Annoyed, she resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose herself, not wanting to imitate her father’s behavior when she was mad at him. How dare he treat her like such a child? She was 20 for God’s sake not some 14 year old trying to sneak out of the house anymore. She knew she was wrong for not calling, she called when she knew she was going to be out late more for her mother than anyone else. Ellen was steadily getting weaker and weaker over the years and Sara didn’t want to worry her. She was more annoyed at the “Alec out” than anything. He couldn’t try to play the over-protective father when it suited him then treat her like a soldier the few times he was actually around. She sighed and turned back towards the table.<br/>
“I hope I wasn’t the cause of all that” Jazan said, noticing the frown that has now settled on her face. “I didn’t mean to keep you out later than intended.”</p><p>“It’s no problem really” Sara said “My father is just worried. I usually call when I am going to be out this late and let them know.” She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I enjoyed our chat today though. We still good to meet up this weekend?” They had already exchanged contact information and planned to meet again at the zoo so he could show her which of the animals he personally got to handle.</p><p>He nodded “I look forward to it. And please tell your father I apologize on my behalf.”</p><p>She chucked at his worry as she waved him goodbye “I will. Thanks again Jazan. See you this weekend” She walked home a bit lighter on her feet. Even in the wake of her father being upset at her, and more than likely grilling her for information as soon as she got home, she felt she had a great day. Although she had a few good friends over the years, they never got the chance to last very long what with how much they moved around so much. Her friends at the university are fun but everyone is so focused on their studies it didn’t leave much opportunity to get very close to each other. She laughed to herself, maybe she actually found a friend that would stick around this time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yup we are doing some stuff before we get to Andromeda but don't worry we'll get there ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite her father’s initial worry at his daughter staying out so late with a complete stranger, he didn’t dwell on it very long. After a through explanation and a few days he was back to whatever the hell he’d been working on. It seems like more and more days he is gone now, working on his “secret project” for the “good of humanity”. Whatever. Scott and Sara weren’t upset at his absence from them so much as the fact that he was absent from his wife. Ellen wasn’t getting any better and it infuriated them that their father was gone more often than not anymore. The twins just made sure to spend extra time with their mother to make up for it. Ellen was happy for her children, Scott was excelling in his Alliance training and Sara was flourishing in school.</p><p>Anytime that wasn’t spent with either her mother or Scott or studying at school Sara spent hanging out with Jazan. It had been almost 8 months since they met and they were quickly developing a close friendship. He and Scott had ended up becoming good friends as well, Scott being happy that his sister finally had someone else she enjoyed spending so much time with that shared her interests. Jazan had even pulled some strings to get her an internship at the zoo which caused many squeals and hugs directed toward the drell. Although Sara, being the newest staff member, got the worst jobs more often than not. Cleaning out the pyjack cage is not something she looked forward to but she still was able to get her animal time in so she was loving life.</p><p>They were at their regular place eating some dinner after a particularly grueling shift. Jazan was laughing at how scratched up her arms had gotten after day’s events. He chucked in that deep sandpaper way he does which made Sara smile. “I can’t believe you actually picked up the tazak young before we got the mother out of the room. You’re lucky she’s so docile and all your got was a couple of warning scratches.”</p><p>Sara laughed and look at her arm which had 3 good gashes running from her shoulder down to her hand. They had slathered in in medi-gel almost as soon as it happened so it shouldn’t scar. “I couldn’t help it! They are finally standing up on their hind legs and one was leaning against me like it wanted me to pick it up. I was so proud of them I forgot to sit down first.” she said remembering the moment in question. They had a brand new litter of Tazaks born almost 3 months prior, they were a species from the Turian’s Palavan that reminded Sara of Earth’s Meerkats only scaly and twice the size with cat like claws. They had been going in every week since they were born to give them supplements that imitate what they would be getting in the wild due to Palavan’s radiation. In the wild they burrow out the base of trees to live in and can’t climb so when she picked one up it freaked out and the mother responded in kind. After they were done her boss, a friendly but no-nonsense turian, congratulated her. “It took you longer than most newbies to get your first stupidity injury. So, did you learn your lesson?” He asked her with a laugh.</p><p>She came back to reality when Jazan reached over and brushed his fingers over her soul guard. “I’m amazed it didn’t do anything to this” She looked down at where he was touching her. It’s true, the scratches may have run from her shoulder to her hand but her guard stopped any damage on her forearm and it didn’t even have a scratch on in. “What is this made from anyway?” he asked.</p><p>She cleared her throat but didn’t pull her arm away, instead choosing to bush her fingers across the guard herself. Their fingers were almost touching “I’m not exactly sure what the material is called. It’s something expensive I know that. My parents saved up our whole lives to get Scott and I good ones.” </p><p>“What are they for exactly?” Jazan asked, still looking at her arm but no longer touching it “You and Scott wear them everytime I see you, even in your homes.”</p><p>Sara blushed as he finally made eye contact with her again. “It hides our soul marks” she said simply. He almost seemed to flinch and pulled his hand away immediately.</p><p>“I..I apologize” he stammered out bowing his head as much as he could in his sitting position, hands clinched tight on his lap “I didn’t realize. I didn’t mean to...I should have known it was something important like that, I just didn’t realize that...” He couldn’t figure out what to say but he was mortified at his mistake. Drell are very secretive about their soul dreams and any attempt to ask about them without prompt is seen as an awlful offense. He looked around because he just couldn’t meet her gaze anymore. He saw many humans and almost all had similar coverings on their arms. Stupid stupid stupid He chastised himself. </p><p>Jazan jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked up to see Sara looking at him with empathy and a little bit of amusement in her eyes. Her hand was resting on the spot on the same arm that her guard rested on, a fact he noticed didn’t comment on. “It’s fine Jazan” she said softly “No harm done”</p><p>“It’s just” he looked down at his hands, trying to find the words “I didn’t mean to offend you by touching your soul mark covering. We drell find people asking about, or even referencing, our soul dreams highly offending. Unless of course, we bring it up first” He looked up at her to see her reaction. “I guess I just assumed that it was similar in your culture.”</p><p>Sara ducked her head a little bit, trying in vain to hide the blush she could feel forming on her face at him bringing up his soul dreams. This conversation was quickly beginning to feel heavier than any of their previous ones. “I mean, it can be” she said “Humans cover their soul names with what we can soul guards” she holds her arm up for him to see, as if he hasn't already. “We hide the names to protect ourselves, so yea it is kinda taboo for someone to try to handle our guards without our permission.” Shame started to settle in his features again, the poor guy looked miserable. “I’m not upset Jazan” she tried to reassure him “I mean, if you were human I might be upset but you didn’t know. Talking about soul names is fine, humans are generally pretty open about the subject and enjoy talking about it, minus actually telling you the name. Touching soul guards, on purpose anyway, is usually reserved for close friends and family” </p><p>Jazan still felt bad, but not as bad as he did. “I’m glad” he said “I’d hate to lose my only non-drell or hanar friend due to some social taboo. So it’s not bad to ask about your soul marks then?”</p><p>She shook her head “No. Why is it for the drell?”</p><p>He hmmmed again. “More than likely it stemmed from our close contact with the Hanar. I don’t know much of our history or customs from the days of Rakhana but I’d like to think we weren’t so formal with our friends and family members before our people were lifted.”</p><p>“Ah” she said. Deciding not to ask about it, no matter how much she wanted to. Sara always found the different ways various species found their soul mates fascinating but held herself back from asking anyone about it. It seemed like every species had some kind of taboo around it and it was just easier not to enter that minefield. </p><p>He smiled at her and almost as if he read her mind he asked “Would you like to know?”</p><p>- - -</p><p>Sara was laying on her bed with her arms folded behind her head, staring a her ceiling just thinking. Today was her and Scott’s 21st birthday. Their mom had ordered a cake, having past the point the she could physically bake one herself anymore, and was going to celebrate with them this afternoon. After that they had planned to go out to the Silversun Strip with their friends for the evening. </p><p>Sara turned and ended up laying on her soul guard, feeling the fabric brush against her cheek. She couldn’t wait to see Jazan today. He was actually going to come by the house and celebrate with them and her mother, having somehow successfully immersed himself into the family. He had no other family on the Citadel and few friends besides herself and Scott so her mother was more than happy to host him whenever he came by. After the talk they had a couple of months ago, the one about his soul dreams, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She even found herself flirting with him and well, as inexperienced as she was even she could see he was flirting back. Her heart did a little fluttering thing whenever she saw him and she couldn’t help but think...she pulled her arm out from under her head and slipped off her soul guard. Looking at her soul name and remembering how the closest thing she could find was an old drell language. Maybe?</p><p>She sighed. No it couldn’t be. He had confided in her some of the dreams he has had over years. Some of which obviously took place on Kahje which she had never visited. Although...she closed her eyes and recalled something he once said:</p><p>“Sometimes...it has been known to happen...drell have soul dreams of things that haven’t happened to their soul mates yet. We see things or places they have not yet done or will do in the future. It is uncommon but not unheard of.”</p><p>She opened her eyes and lovingly traced her soul name again. She may have never visited Kahje before but..what if…? She smiled again. She can’t wait to see him today. It was then that Scott decided to interrupt her moment.</p><p>“Thinking of someone in particular?” she heard him ask. Looking up to see him leaning against her door with his arms crossed, and amused look on his face. </p><p>She sat up and looked up at him, suddenly feeling very foolish and hopeful and the same time. He knew that she liked Jazan so she didn’t have a problem holding up her arm to him and asking “Do you think?”</p><p>Scott sat down next to her and grabbed her wrist, running his thumb along her name before handing her soul guard back and watching as she slipped it back on. He knew what Jazan had in store for her tonight and didn’t want to spoil the surprise. “Maybe” he said with that sideways smirk of his. “You did say it was closest to a drell language right?” She smiled and blushed “Just...just don’t get your heart set on it just in case ok? I mean you never know” Scott liked Jazan, he really did, but he also knew that, like him, his sister had her heart set on her soul mate and no one else. He had no idea if Jazan was her soul mate or not, but he didn’t want her to get her hopes up just in case he wasn’t. The Ryder twins have had too much disappointment in their lives already.</p><p>“I know. Don’t worry little bro” she said, ruffling his hair like she used to do when they were kids. Although if she was honest with herself, it was a little too late. </p><p>“Little!?” he exclaimed “I’m bigger than you!”</p><p>“Yea” she laughed “But I’m 5 minutes older” She got up and stretched her back, delighting in the popping along her spine. “What about you?” she asked “How are you doing?”</p><p>Scott knew what she meant. She was asking how he was feeling about not meeting his soul mate yet, or even finding any sign of her. “Its...” How to explain it? Discouraging? Frustrating?  Annoying? Soul-sucklingly scary? “I don’t know” he sighed, not being able to decide on a word. Sara has it easier he thought. Her soul mate was obviously an alien so she had no problem waiting and looking everywhere possible. But his was human, there were only so many places his species realistically lived in large groups. He couldn’t find her on Earth. He can’t find her on the Citadel. He didn’t even find her name in any of the Alliance records of any of the other human inhabited worlds in Citadel Space. He was starting to fear he would never find her.</p><p>“Hey” Sara said softly, rubbing his soul guard. “Stop it” She could easily see his line of thinking, she always did. “You’ll find her ok? We’re only 21, we have our whole lives ahead of us. Besides, you’re in the Alliance. You’ve got years of travel and exploration to find her. Mom and Dad didn’t find each other until they were in their 30s remember?”</p><p>“Yea yea I know” he said, ready to change the subject. He ruffled his sisters hair right back and stood up. “C’mon get ready. Jazan is picking up the cake and he’ll be here in an hour”</p><p>- - -</p><p>Sara touched the new silver necklace adorning her neck, admiring how the lights of the Silversun Strip streets shine on it. It was comfortably thick and heavy with the metal woven together to look almost like rope. It was her birthday gift from Jazan. He had taken her somewhere private after the party to give her the necklace and confessed his feelings to her. He is her first boyfriend and she couldn’t be happier! Rolling her eyes at the thought, she can’t believe it took 21 years. Looking up she saw Jazan smiling at her, watching her admire the necklace. </p><p>“Alright! Let’s get this party started!” Scott whooped, walking through the doors first, causing many giggles and laughs from their small group consisting of not only them but a few friends from both the Alliance and the university. Jazan placed his hand on her lower back and they walked together into what was probably only the first club of the night.</p><p>- - -</p><p>Three clubs later and the group was all thoroughly buzzed, if not totally wasted. Sara had never really cared about drinking before, she found the taste of most alcohol abhorrent, and never really saw the point of drinking just to get drunk. She tried to abstain from it tonight but Scott had talked her into it. She looked up at the spinning lights of their current night club, feeling a light fuzziness in her mind. Jazan put his arm around her and leaned in to nuzzle her neck making her giggle. He wasn’t usually this openly affectionate and even though she knew it’s more than likely due to the alcohol, she was enjoying it. He leaned in further to meet her mouth in an open sloppy mouth kiss, their tongues dancing together in a way that she had never done with anyone before. Her own moan took her by surprise. She broke the kiss to lean back and look at his face, surprised he was being so forward even with the alcohol, and the lights spinning behind him almost took on a blinding quality. She blinked to try to clear her vision, everytime she did the room changed colors. Was this supposed to happen? she thought. She didn’t think so. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he was drell? Or maybe the booze was finally getting to her. Any other time she would probably be freaking out, but right now she really didn’t care. She clung to him and nuzzled his neck. Her body was quickly heating up in a way she didn’t recognize and she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the temperature in the club. The buzz in her head was getting louder and the only thing she could focus on was the warm, hard drell with his arms around her. She was about to ask if he wanted to do something, anything, when she felt his whole body suddenly tense in her arms. Shit, is that supposed to happen? She didn’t think that was supposed to happen.</p><p>She looked up at his face to see his eyes wide and his mouth slack-jawed. What? She’s never seen that look on his face before. Following his line of sight she saw another drell. A light purple female drell with a lavender frill in a beautiful silver dance dress was standing at the corner of the dance floor, the same dumbfounded look in her face. She was confused, did they know each other? They sure looked like they knew each other. Sara looked back at him when Jazan stiffly stood up.</p><p>“Jazan?” she asked shakily. What was he doing? His hand slipped from hers as he walked towards the female drell. “Jazan?” she asked louder “Where are you going?” He didn’t even look back at her. She just sat there, alcohol clouding her thoughts as she was attempting to comprehend what was going on as she watched her boyfriend walk away towards some unknown woman. She wasn’t that worried, not really, more confused as to what he was up to. Maybe she was some old friend from…before she could even finish her thought Jazan’s hand was on the drell woman’s cheek as he leaned to kiss her. Sara’s heart dropped to her feet and tears burned her eyes. What? She thought. He kissed her deeply, not like the kiss they had just shared. Not sloppy and frenzied but softer, more sensual. She couldn't watch anymore. She couldn’t think. She could barely see anything through the blur her tears were causing. Standing up she left the club, she didn’t even bother to check with Scott and tell him she was leaving.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So angsty I know! This whole thing was originally going to be all one chapter but it’s getting to long so I’ll have to split it into two. Let me know how you’re liking it so far :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sara isn’t sure how she found herself in yet another bar, she was pretty sure she meant to go home and bury her sorrows inside a cocoon of pillows and blankets. Instead, she somehow ended up in a seedy part of the citadel drowning her sorrows in glass after glass of of a drink she can’t remember the name of. Enjoying the burning sensation as it flows down her throat and through her limbs. She was starting to see why people drink. With each tip of her glass she could feel her heartache over Jazan slowly morph to anger. How dare he? He knows she’s never been with anyone else before, knows that she would never be interested in just a casual fling. He asked her out and then left her for some purple piece of scaly ass not even 24 hours later? She slammed her glass down on the counter, watching the amber liquid splatter around her glass before they started to shimmer and change colors. She grimaced, and then there was that too! She vaguely remembers reading something about how drell fluid can affect humans sometimes, something she learned when she researched to learn more about the drell shortly after she met him. She had dismissed it at the time, was still dismissing it now. Not like she’ll ever have to worry about it again. She was so engrossed in her own self-pity she didn’t notice a set of green eyes watching her from afar. Screw it! she thought, throwing back the last of her drink. She stood up on wobbly legs and made her way to the dingy dance floor. She didn’t need him, she didn’t need any man if it would make her feel like this. She was numb and unaware and she was going to let loose for the first time in her life, this was her 21st birthday after all.</p>
<p>She squeezed her way into the mass of worming bodies and lost herself to the beat. She could spend all night here she realized. There was nothing but music and warmth caressing her from the outside while the unknown amount of drinks she had caressed her from the inside. She wasn’t sure exactly when warmth turned solid, but when she brought her hands down to meet a pair of arms that had wrapped themselves around her waist she couldn’t find the will in her to care. She grinded into her new dance partner like someone who had been dancing this way their whole life. Looking back to see who had graced her with their presence, she smiled upon seeing the stranger and brought her hands up behind her head to touch his hair and neck. Human. Familiar. He was cute too. A guy that looked to be about her age, tan skin with black hair and a smirk on his face that made any resistance she had left over by the alcohol melt. He leaned his head down and kissed her neck, her head craning to the side almost by itself, not that she was putting up a fight at this point.</p>
<p>“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked. She should say no. She knew better than this and something in the back of her mind told her she should leave, but that voice was quickly silenced by the feeling of his hands rubbing up and down her stomach. When had his hands pushed her shirt up? Why was she still asking questions?</p>
<p>She smiled “Lead the way” She was past the point of thought at this point and was just listening to her body, and her body wanted the arms around her right now. </p>
<p>He led her to what she assumed must be his apartment. It was, what would be in hindsight, a very nice place. Lavish. Expensive. All chrome and nice artwork, the best furniture and the newest vid screen. But at the moment everything just looked like a lust filled silver haze to her. He led her to what she assumed must be his bedroom, they were all kissing and hands and she doesn’t think that they’ve even separated since leaving the club. Flopping down on the bed they quickly tore their clothes off, not even bothering with the pretense of romance or foreplay. They eventually got everything but their soul guards off and wiggled their way into a comfortable position with her on bottom and he on top.</p>
<p>Sara reached her hands up to thread it in his hair as he assaulted her neck with rough kisses and bites. Fondling her breasts he separated her legs with his knees and straightened himself, the severity of the position was like a glass of ice water on her mind and the haze she has been living in the past few hours lifted a bit. “Wait!” she tried to call out to him, but she didn’t get very far before he silenced her with a rough kiss and slid all the way in. She hissed in pain, instinctively trying to pull back but he followed her deeper into the mattress and she had no where else to go. She didn’t even know his name! She realized. She had no idea who this guy was and here she was in his apartment fucking him!</p>
<p>Her inner turmoil was unknown to him as he just kept pumping, panting in her ear and occasionally offering some kisses to her lips and neck. The copious amounts of alcohol she consumed earlier in the evening was still swimming through her system, making her more relaxed than she probably should be. Her body slowly starting to respond to her lover’s movements and the pain of his initial intrusion slowly started to turn to pleasure. He smirked as she started moaning and increased his pace. All too soon, or too late she couldn’t tell, it was over. He thrust one last time with a grunt, almost slamming into her, then sighed in pleasure and rolled off. She lay there, panting, not knowing what to think. Not sure how much she even could think. The days events quickly catching up to her and she suddenly felt so very tired. She turned and looked at him, intending to at least ask him his name before she passed out but instead of seeing him looking back at her as she expected all she saw was his back. He stood up and pulled a robe on before promptly leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Frowning, she turned over and snuggled into the overly fluffy blankets and fell asleep. She’ll deal with all of this in the morning. Maybe it was just all a bad dream.</p>
<p>- - -</p>
<p>Sore. Sore was the first thing she felt upon waking, why was she so sore? Sara sat up and grabbed her head, trying in vain to stop it from swimming. When she felt like she could open her eyes without pain she looked around and froze, last night suddenly coming back to her. No way that really happened she thought. Looking around she expected to see the light tones of her bedroom or maybe even the darker hues of Jazan’s place, but instead she was met with the fluffy white carpet and golden drapes of a bedroom she didn’t recognize. She suddenly felt sick, jumping out of bed to the nearest door hoping it was a bathroom. Thank God it was. She dropped herself to floor in front of the toilet and promptly threw up. She didn’t know whether she was throwing up due to the situation she found herself in or what she is confident will be her first and last hangover. When she was done she stood on shaky legs and made her way over to the mirror. Her reflection shocked her. She was naked, obviously, her hair tangled in a way that will make it a bitch to comb out and her breath smelled rancid but that’s was all to be expected. No, it was the myriad of hickeys and bruises that now splattered her skin. Various hickeys and bite marks along her neck, bruises on her breasts and hips evidence of the rough treatment she endured last night. Sex wasn’t supposed to be like that was it? No. she thought bitterly It wasn’t. She may be inexperienced but even she knew that...what that was wasn’t proper sex. At least she hoped to God it wasn’t! Sex...something whispered in her mind ...not lovemaking she frowned. Looking down at her arm her frown only deepened, seeing her soul guard slightly pushed up and revealing the last few letters of her soul mate’s name. She straightened it back to it’s proper place as the reality of what she had just done truly hit her. She just had a one night stand with some random dude she bet in a bar. She was no longer a virgin, and that scared her. She always vowed she would save herself for her soul mate, so much so that being a virgin became almost part of her identity, now that she didn’t have that anymore...she didn’t know what to do.</p>
<p>She decided to table those thoughts until later when she was home and safe. Not that she didn’t really feel safe. Even as she was getting dressed in the middle of some dude’s bedroom she didn’t really feel that scared. She knew how to defend herself especially against another human thanks to all the training her father drilled into her in her youth. The fact that the house she was in was bright and non-threatening certainly did help things though. Fully dressed she picked up her omni-tool and flicked it on, cringing at the bright orange light it produced. She cringed harder when she saw all the missed messages and calls she had. Fuck she needed to get home. Turning to leave a silver glint caught her eye. It was her necklace, the one Jazan gave to her yesterday, it was on the floor half way under the nightstand. Picking it up she stared at it in her hand. She debated putting it back on remembering the fact that it, or rather he, was the reason she got herself into this predicament in the first place decided to just stuff it in her pocket instead. She would think on Jazan later, right now she just needed to get home.</p>
<p>She stepped out of the bedroom and down the stairs to what she assumed should be the living room given the layout of the house she had seen so far. She was right, partially, it was more of a living room/kitchen combo and a woman with a stern face and blond hair tied into a bun was siting at the breakfast nook. She stood upon seeing Sara enter the room and frowned, throwing her gaze towards the living room side where her “lover” sat on the couch watching the vid screen. </p>
<p>“Really Thomas!? Another one!?” she yelled at him. He just raised his hand at her, not even bothering to get up off the couch yelling “Sorry mom!” back. “Yes well” she replied “We will certainly be talking about this again later. Now you!” she snapped at Sara causing her to jump a little, not expecting to be talked to so aggressively in such an uncomfortable situation. “My<br/>
name is Anita Goyle and I apologize for my son Thomas’ behavior. I will be transferring you some credits you can use to take a cab home and I trust you will keep whatever happened between you and my son last night discrete.” She said as she brought up her omni-tool to hers and then quickly shuffled her to the front door. Sara didn’t even get a chance to get a word in, not that she would even know what she would say, before she found herself outside the apartment looking at the mother as she closed the door in her face saying “Thank you for your discretion and have a nice day.” </p>
<p>She couldn't even find it in herself to be annoyed, not right now, she just wanted to get home. Turing to try and find a cab she was pretty sure she heard yelling from the other side of the door. Anita Goyle huh? Why did that name sound so familiar?</p>
<p>- - -<br/>
It had been a month since Sara’s drunken one night stand. Her family obviously wasn’t very happy with her when she got home. She had never seen her father so mad before, or her brother for that matter. Shortly after she had left Jazan had tried to find her and alerted Scott to her disappearance when he couldn’t, they searched all over the strip for her and even alerted C-Sec when they couldn’t find her. Apparently C-Sec had better things to do than look too hard for some drunk human on her 21st birthday and said they would alert the Ryders if they had found she’d gotten into any trouble. Thankfully it hadn’t come to that, but her family was still pissed. Even after explaining herself her parents still watched her like a hawk for weeks after.</p>
<p>She tried her best to avoid Jazan, finding herself unable to face him. Whether that be because of her anger over his betrayal or her shame about the evens after she didn’t know. He kept calling and messaging her, he even came by the house a few times before her dad chased him away. He must have been talking to Scott because even he was trying to push her to talk to Jazan. Sara knew she was being a coward by refusing to speak with him but what was she supposed to say? She couldn’t avoid him very long however, considering they worked together it only took him 3 days to finally corner her. She was sitting on her knees checking the pH levels of the water in an exhibit of an Thessia native creature that kind of reminded Sara of a mix between a penguin and seal of her own native planet when she heard a deep baritone voice from behind her. </p>
<p>“Sara...”</p>
<p>Tensing up Sara took a deep breath and sighed, trying to will her back muscles back to a relaxed state. I can’t be a coward forever she thought Might as well get this over with. Abandoning her gear she stood up and turned, fully intending to rip into him for the crap he pulled that night. Once she looked into his eyes however she just...couldn’t. He looked so miserable. Ragged. His scales seemed slightly duller and his body language screamed exhaustion. He looked like he hadn’t slept at all the 3 days they were apart. Worst of all were his eyes. His big black eyes she used to love looking into seemed to have lost the spark they once had. Seeing all this Sara’s anger simmered down to a tolerable level, he was obviously suffering as well if he looked this bad. Thoughts from the last few days seemed to be whispering again. Maybe it was the booze that made him kiss that woman? Maybe it was something in the drink that affected with his physiology and he can’t even remember what happened? Maybe he has no idea why I was avoiding him? Then remembering what she had done that night compared to what he did...she suddenly felt very guilty and scared.</p>
<p>“C’mon Jazan” she finally said “My shifts about over anyway. Let’s go talk” Sara missed the relieved look on his face when she turned to gather her gear. They headed out to put away her things before walking to the base of a large tree on the edge of the zoo that they would often times sit to eat together during their lunch breaks. </p>
<p>Arriving at the tree Sara turned and leaned against it, she crossed her arms and waited.  She tried to look guarded but knew she was probably failing. Jazan didn’t miss the defensive posture and braced himself for the conversation he had been rehearsing for the past 3 days.</p>
<p>“Sara” he started “First let me say I’m sorry. I am so so very sorry. I know I hurt you and I know you have been avoiding me and you have good reason to but please just let me explain what happened.” </p>
<p>Sara sighed and uncrossed her arms, nodding at him to continue. He smiled. Atleast she was hearing him out.</p>
<p>“That night...I had obviously had too much to drink. I had drunk before but never to that extent. I did not however drink to much that it should have severely impacted my actions and it certainly didn’t affect my memory. I remember sitting with you at the bar and...” He felt like he was stumbling over his words. He looked into her eyes and decided it was best to just show her, as much as he could anyway. He let himself fall into the memory of that night.</p>
<p>Bright lights dancing in the air. Sweet taste of fruit flavored alcohol on my tongue. A small pale hand pulls my head towards hers. We kiss with no abandon, kiss like I never had before. An intoxication fills me even stronger than that of the liquid in my stomach. For that of the woman in my arms. Our kiss ends and I look into her beautiful eyes, blue shinning clearing than sea on Kahje. “Sara” I murmur. She smiles and I feel myself compelled to kiss her again. </p>
<p>Jazan pulls himself out of his memory before it gets to the next part, the part that started all this mess. He feels a strange sense of apprehension, shame and glee to tell her this next part. He looks into her eyes and wills her to understand and accept what he has to say. “Do you remember a long time ago when we talked about the different ways our species finds our soul mates?” he asked</p>
<p>Sara was a little shocked at the question but nodded. That is not something she expected him to ask. “That drell dream of their soul mates right?”</p>
<p>He smiled “Yes. We do. Drell will at times dream of the things their soul mates have experienced. Almost like we are living their memories. I have only had a small handful of mine...” Jazan trailed off.</p>
<p>Sara froze. He can’t be serious can he? Is he really implying what I think he is? “Jazan” she spoke up in a quite voice “Did you…?”</p>
<p>“A week before your birthday I had a soul dream. I dreamt I was boarding a ship from Kahje. I had just put away all my things in my personal quarters and when I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror I saw...” He looked at Sara to see an emotion he didn’t recognize swimming in her eyes. Arashu he hoped he wouldn’t lose his best friend over this. “I saw the woman from the club. The purple drell.” he finished. </p>
<p>Sara gasped, suddenly finding her voice. “So that woman from the club is...your soul mate?” she asked. He nodded and almost looked ashamed. All the bad emotions she had up until this conversation were forgotten as she squealed and jump hugged him. </p>
<p>Surprised at her reaction he just stood there as she clung to him “You...you’re not mad?” He asked. He couldn’t believe she was hugging him right now.<br/>
Sara looked up at him and laughed “No you silly man of course I’m not mad! You finally found your soul mate! That’s amazing!”</p>
<p>Jazan couldn’t help himself and wrapped his arms tightly around her smaller frame. He buried his face in her neck and couldn’t hold back the sob that had been fighting to get out of his chest since he couldn’t find her in the club that night. Even if she was happy for him he still felt the need to explain himself to her. Still holding his head where it was he cried out “I’m so sorry Sara! Even though were together and were kissing even when I saw her...I just...I just knew! I couldn’t stop myself from going to her. It was like everything else around me was gone and I just had to get to her. It was only after I had kissed her that the world came back and I realized you were gone and what it had looked like to you.” He pulled both their faces him and buried his hand in her hair, if only to do it one last time. “I truly do hope you can forgive me for my horrible behavior to you, on your birthday no less.” She laughed lightly and only then did he realize they both had been crying. All the pent-up emotions from the last few days finally being released for the both of them. They disentangled themselves from each other and sat at the base of the tree, side by side. </p>
<p>“Sooo you found your soul mate” Sara couldn’t keep the smile off her face. No matter how upset she had been with him, how can she be mad when it was something like this? She wish she would have talked to him days ago. “What’s her name?</p>
<p>Jazan couldn’t stop himself from smiling either, looking up into the artificial clouds. Just thinking of his soul mate, even with everything that had happened, had him all giddy. “Amira”</p>
<p>“Amira huh? …. So does this mean we’re no longer together?”</p>
<p>Jazan’s looked over so quick she swore she heard his neck pop. Sara laughed so hard she fell over and realizing she was just joking with him Jazan joined in her laughter. He looked up at the sky again, finally completely happy. He had his friend back and now his soul mate. How could things possibly go wrong now?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OMG she lives!! Yes I am still here and I am so so super duper sorry I have been gone for over half a year! I have no excuses...but here they are:<br/>- I have been busy with life during covid changes. I have 4 kids, 2 who are school age and 2 who are toddlers so we've been doing virtual school while still making time for the little ones. It's a challenge but I believe we've got the hang of it now.<br/>- I also have been busy starting up my own business. I have started a leather crafting business :) I've been using all my spare time (which is mostly after the kids go to bed) practicing my leather work and I just finished my first commission and got myself a logo! I've been trying to make more stuff so I can actually display some work on my pages lol.<br/>- Other more boring things...<br/>Anyway, thank you for all those who have stayed with me or even read my story once and left I am still very grateful :) I will be trying to make sure I have time to write because I totally do not plan on abandoning this fic That and the announcement of the Mass Effect Remake maaayyy have gotten me excited for the fandom again :D</p>
<p>P.S. 10 points to anyone who can guess where I got the names Jazan and Amira from :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a little over a month since the fiasco of the twin’s 21st birthday and things had gone relatively back to normal after Sara’s talk with Jazan. She didn’t feel the need to avoid him anymore and she even got the chance to meet Amira who apologized profusely for her role in the whole mess. Sara couldn't find it in herself to hold it against the woman. She can’t imagine what it must feel like to see your soul mate for the first time, much less see him kissing another woman. Sara looked down at her soul guard and frowned, atleast Amira knew what her soul mate looked like. Amira had explained that she saw Jazan when he looked in a mirror during one of her soul dreams.</p>
<p>It’s just not fair! She thought sighing and flopping back down on her bed, abandoning her previous task of finding a shirt to wear that day. Why do drell get dreams and humans only get names? It must be so much easier for them to find their soul mates. Sara thought as she undid her guard to run her fingers along her intricately written soul name for what must have been the millionth time by now. “When am I going to find you?” she whispered. She tried not to worry but she couldn’t help it. Now that Jazan had found his soul mate, at such a young age no less since he was only a few years older than her, it had her thinking about her own more and more. She had done countless hours of research trying to find the language, the species...anything about the mark written on her arm but still had come up with nothing. It was getting very demoralizing, especially after her one nightstand. Sara cringed just thinking about the fact that she had a one nightstand. Her brother has had a few over the years she knew, but it was something that she swore she would never do. Swearing to save herself for her soul mate. Looking at her mark again, she was almost a little afraid to finally find him having not saved herself like she wanted anymore...almost. </p>
<p>“Hurry up Sara! We’re starting in 10 minutes with or without you!” Her father’s voice rang from down the hall. </p>
<p>She sighed again and strapped her guard back into place. While things with Jazan and even Scott had gone back to normal, that didn’t mean her parent’s had forgiven her as easily. Sara had told her parents and brother pretty much everything that happened that night, except for the drunken sex part. She just couldn’t face what her family would say or do if they knew, plus it wasn’t any of their business really. Not that she thought Scott would care all that much, it’s not like he hadn’t slept around himself. She had come back safe and sound on her own so there was no need to tell them, instead lying and saying she just got a hotel room for the night. She did have a hell of a time hiding all the marks from her brother though. She ended up having to borrow some makeup from a friend to help cover the more obvious ones that she couldn’t cover with clothes. They still had not disappeared all together but they were getting lighter and easier to hide. Looking at them helped morph any guilt she had over losing her virginity to anger at the asshole who inflicted them on her. She almost wanted to tell her brother about them just to see him find the guy but decided against it, not like anything could be done about what happened now anyway even if it did still piss her off thinking about it. Asshole.</p>
<p>Her mother had given her quite the lecture, not having the strength to do much more than that it seems. If Sara had any regret more than losing her virginity to some random dude it was disappointing her mother. She was so weak now, spending all of her time at home either in bed or in her chair in the living room almost solely being cared for by her children at this point. Alec instead had doubled down on her training on her days off. Her father’s chosen punishment being making her spend the majority of her savings on a top of the line tactical cloak upgrade and training her for hours on end to use it. Funnily enough the money that Anita Goyle lady sent her payed for most of it but she wasn’t going to tell her father that. Between that and his ramped up hand to hand training everyday after work she didn’t have much time to go out at night anymore, which I guess was his plan all along. Not that she wanted to, she was never a big nightlife party girl anyway and the 1 big nightlife party night she had certainly didn’t change her mind about it.</p>
<p>She stood up a bit too quickly at the sound of her father yelling her name again and was hit by a wave of nausea. Bracing herself against the wall she waited for it to pass before she finished getting dressed and headed out the door. Great she thought bitterly Now I’m getting sick that’s JUST what I needed. She stopped by the kitchen to grab a quick ration bar on her way out, hoping that getting some food in her stomach would help settle it a bit. Her father and brother were already sparring by the time she made it out to their training room. Her friends had always found it odd that they even had a training room in their house, most apartments on the Citadel didn’t have room for one and even if they did they wouldn't waste the space on it. Space is a precious commodity here, but having an N7 father had it’s perks I guess. It was a decent sized room with sleek black mats covering a large portion of the floor in the middle and various workout equipment sitting neatly along each side. The front wall being covered completely with floor to ceiling mirrors to help keep watch of your form, or help check yourself out as she caught Scott doing once. Sara smirked at the memory of his reddened cheeks when she caught him, she is so never going to let him live that down.</p>
<p>“Sara” She broke out of her memory when she heard her name being called. Looking up she saw her mother sitting in the corner of the room with her omni-tool flickering on her lap, most likely reading a book. Sara smiled and walked towards her mother. It was so good to see her out of her usual spaces. Walking has been getting harder for her but she has been determined to move as much as she could, much to her father’s dismay who keep trying to get her to stay still and preserve her strength. Sara really shouldn’t be surprised to see her there. “Are you alright dear?” Her mother asked when she finally got to her “You look a little pale, are you sure you want to train today?”</p>
<p>“I’m fine Mom I just woke up that’s all” Sara replied while holding up her half eaten ration bar for her mother to see “Not like Dad would let me out of it today anyway”</p>
<p>“Hrmm yes I don’t know what’s gotten into your father lately. He’s been going far too hard on both you and Scott. Perhaps I’ll have a talk with him later tonight.” Her mother frowned. </p>
<p>Sara didn’t want to say anything not wanting to change her mother’s mind, she was getting tired of all this training anyway. It’s not like there is even anything she is training FOR since she’s not going into the service. Basic training made sense just for self-defense purposes but she didn’t see the point in all this advance stuff. Not like you need it very much in her field of work. Her father called her name and beckoned her to the sparring ring. She walked forward grumbling and just lamented that she was going to be in a bad mood today.</p>
<p>- - -</p>
<p>The next month was hell on the whole Ryder family. Her mother’s health had taken a serious downturn and she was now at a care facility for full time care. Her father didn’t take it well and delved himself into work even more than usual. Sara and Scott spent their time more often than not alone in the apartment. Sara still had no idea what this big fancy classified project was that he has been working on for years but she only hoped that her father was spending some of his time away with his wife. Sara’s own health was taking a downturn as well. She was constantly feeling sick and sore and could barley hold anything down. Scott, having his mother become so sick she needed full time care and now seeing his sister sick for multiple weeks strait, became almost necrotic in trying to take care of her. It’s not like their father was ever around to help.</p>
<p>He hadn’t been out in weeks and Sara finally forced him to go out for a night with some friends to let off some steam and have fun.</p>
<p>“Are you SURE I should leave Sara? What if you throw up again?” Scott tried as his sister threw his jacket at him.</p>
<p>Sara placed her hands on her hips and tried to look intimidating, which she was probably failing at considering her stomach was churning again at her quick movements. “I’m not a fucking invalid you know you can leave me alone and I will be fine! Besides...” she turned and gestured at Amira who was sitting off to the side and watching their argument with amusement. “I have Amira here with me if I need anything. Now you and Jazan please go! Go out to eat, go see a movie, go mini-golfing for all I care just get out of the house!” she ended her rant while playfully pushing him out the door.</p>
<p>“Alright! Alright! I’m goin! I’m goin!” Scott lamented “Just call me if you need anything ok?”</p>
<p>“Noted. Byyeeee!” Sara said as she went to shut the door. Before it closed all the way she saw Jazan turn to Scott and ask “What’s mini-golfing?”.</p>
<p>She chucked as she turned to Amira, she was about to ask her what she wanted to do tonight while the boys were out, but before she could get a word out her stomach squeezed and she ran past the drell to barley make it to the kitchen sink to throw up. “This is bullshit!” she cried in between her dry heaves. Amira showed up and started rubbing her back soothingly. “I haven’t even eaten anything I am just throwing up stomach acid at this point!” </p>
<p>“Haven’t you been to a doctor?” Amira asked, upset at seeing her friend in such a state.</p>
<p>“Yea...but the medicine they gave me obviously isn’t working. I think I’m going to make an appointment with someone else tomorrow. That guy barley looked me over before he thrust a bottle of pills at me!” she replied as she wiped her mouth and turned to look at her friend.</p>
<p>Amira rubbed her fused fingers together, something Sara hadn’t seen her do since their first conversation where she and Jazan explained they were soul mates. “What’s up Amira?” Sara asked now that her stomach had settled down again.</p>
<p>“I...I was just wondering if...well...I don’t know how you’d take this in human culture. Among the drell a friend asking is ok but I know other cultures are different...”</p>
<p>Sara frowned “What are you wanting to say Amira? I promise I won’t get mad or anything” she finished with a laugh.</p>
<p>Amira finally looked her in the eye “Sara do you think you might be pregnant?”</p>
<p>“...WHAT??” </p>
<p>Amira pulled out something that looked suspiciously like a pregnancy test and handed it to her. Sara looked down at it. Yup...that’s pregnancy test.</p>
<p>“Like I said, for the drell this kind of thing would be alright to ask among friends. Our population is so low that pregnancy is seen as a joyous time and, back home on Kahje anyway, we are happy to share the news with everyone. But since humans don’t have the same population issues we do I wasn’t sure if this was appropriate.” Sara was still looking down at the box in her hand “But your symptoms are similar to what a drell woman experiences during early pregnancy, albeit yours are a lot more extreme. I read up on human pregnancies and they seem to match up there as well so I got you a test just in case.”</p>
<p>Sara finally looked up at her with wide eyes in shock. “I..I mean yea it’s fine...I just wasn’t expecting this at all.” Sara laughed “No I’m not pregnant, I can’t be.” She started to walk to the bathroom waving the test “But I’ll take it anyway just for the laughs yea? Why don’t you go find a movie or something to turn on and I’ll grab some snacks when I get out?” </p>
<p>She didn’t wait for Amira’s response before she closed the door. A part of her was panicking inside. No there was no way right? she thought to herself while pacing the floor of the bathroom There’s just no way. It was ONE time there is no way I am getting pregnant the ONE time I have sex! She decided to just get it over with so she could stop worrying. She turned it over and got a good look at the box. All these years of technical advancements and the best way to tell if you are pregnant apparently is still just to pee on a stick. After she had done the deed she let it sit and stew for a minute like the box told her, debating on the best way to dispose of it so her parents and brother never found it. After a minute she flipped it over and almost dropped it. </p>
<p>POSITIVE</p>
<p>- - -</p>
<p>“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit Amira! Shit!” Sara yelled as she furiously threaded her fingers through and shook her hair, pacing back and forth in the living room. “Are you sure it’s right? I mean maybe it’s a false positive? That happens sometimes right?”</p>
<p>Amira looked back at her friend and shook her head in sympathy. Having just been told the whole story, she is the only person who knows Sara didn’t just go to a hotel that night. “I actually got one of the more expensive ones, they are just as accurate as a blood test. It came with 2 more strips if you want to try those to make sure.”</p>
<p>“Yea I already did” Sara replied and Amira didn’t need to ask to know those both came back positive too. “What am I going to do?” she moaned and sat down on the couch with her head in her hands.</p>
<p>“What do you want to do?” Amira asked. She knew there were multiple options on the citadel, from organizations that help with single mothers to adoption agencies to abortion clinics.</p>
<p>Sara took in a deep breath and let it out through her nose before she looked up at her friend again. “I’m going to keep it” she said with conviction “I’ve always wanted a big family with lots of kids. I can’t imagine giving one of my kids up if I can help it...I just wanted to have them with my soul mate.” she finished sadly. </p>
<p>“What was the father’s name?” </p>
<p>“Pfft not the name under my soul guard I can tell you that.”</p>
<p>Amira gave a pained smile “I know that but if you plan on keeping the baby then you should tell the father don’t you think? He may want to be in the child’s life or if anything you could get some kind of support from him.” </p>
<p>Sara sighed and closed her eyes to try her best to remember that night. Most of it was still pretty fuzzy for her, not for the first time she was envious of the kind of memories drell have. “I remember his mother’s name was Anita Goyle. She was very adamant about me not sticking around but the guy never told me his name...wait she did yell at him while I was there. Tim? No...Th...Thomas!” She yelled opening her eyes. “His name was Thomas Goyle!”</p>
<p>“Goyle?” Amira asked and it was her turn to look shocked “Are you sure she said Goyle?”</p>
<p>“Yea, pretty sure why?”</p>
<p>“Anita Goyle is the human ambassador. She came by the drell embassies 2 days ago to speak with the hanar ambassador.” </p>
<p>Sara had forgotten that Amira worked as a receptionist for the drell/hanar embassy. “If that’s the case he won’t be hard to fine” Sara said with a sad smile. Atleast that part will be easy. She looked down at her stomach which she was cursing just an hour ago...now…</p>
<p>“What do you want to do?” Amira asked her again</p>
<p>Sara sighed again and rubbed her hands on her face, trying to get her thoughts strait enough to respond. So many things to think about now. “Ok” she said “Ok I have to make a plan. I have to let Thomas know I’m having his kid, considering how that night went I can’t see him wanting to be an involved father though. I need to find an apartment of my own, I can’t exactly raise my baby here. I mean I CAN but I don’t really want to. I’ve been kind of looking at apartments for myself anyway since mom got moved into that place. And...and I need to tell Scott.” That was not a conversation she was looking forward to.</p>
<p>Amira noticed her hesitance at her brother’s name. “Your afraid to tell your family?” she asked  She knew that human culture was different that her own of course, but she couldn’t imagine fearing telling her family something as big as this.</p>
<p>“Not afraid exactly...just nervous. I know I can do this, my job pays well enough that I won’t be struggling. Scott will freak out but he’ll come around pretty quickly. My dad will probably just avoid me and work more, that’s what he always does when he gets bad news. I’m more worried about upsetting my mom than anything. I don’t want to do anything to stress her out and make her worse.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure she’ll be happy for you, they all will eventually. I know I am and I know Jazan will be. I promise I won’t tell anyone until you are ready.”</p>
<p>Sara teared up and gave her a hug which make Amira tense in shock but squeezed her back quickly. “Thank you Amira. I don’t know what I would do without you right now.”</p>
<p>Amira smiled “You would probably still be cursing your unborn for making you vomit.” That make Sara chuckle and they both sat down on the couch. “Come” she said, and opened her omni-tool “Let us make a list of every thing you need to do. It will be alright”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alright y'all here is the new chapter and I hope you all like it. I know we haven't made it to Andromeda yet, and we won't for a few more chapters atleast. I gotta make sure I get all the angst in ya know? </p>
<p>Anyway, as you all know the new trilogy remaster date was announced (yaaayyy) for May. I actually have a Shepard/Thane fic I have had floating around in my head for awhile so I think once the game comes out in May I will be starting that fic in addition to this one. I'm going to be writing that fic along side playing the game. I will be doing the same with the Andromeda game once I finish the trilogy. </p>
<p>BUT that won't start for awhile so that's enough rambling for me. Feel free to critic and review, it helps me improve my writing and gets me off my butt to do it faster, or stay up to do it longer as it were. Night all!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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